Portal:United States
Introduction
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
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- ... that the Supreme Court has been cited as a vector of democratic backsliding in the United States?
- ... that in its first full month on the air, an Idaho TV station had the highest prime-time viewing share of any independent station in the United States?
- ... that the Adelaide L. T. Douglas House, built for a New York City socialite, housed the United States Olympic Committee before being sold to Guatemala?
- ... that the Pellissippi Parkway in East Tennessee takes its name from a Native American name that was applied to both the Clinch and Ohio Rivers?
- ... that William Rounseville Alger's 1857 Fourth of July speech was so controversial that the city of Boston refused to print it for seven years?
- ... that Zenith Data Systems's $242 million contract with the United States Department of Defense in 1986 was the largest federal computer contract until then?
- ... that while the United States Armed Forces are forbidden from using flamethrowers by an international treaty, there are no restrictions on civilian use in 48 states and the District of Columbia?
- ... that the 1944 SCR-720 radar system was used only briefly by the USAAF, but was a primary RAF system into the late 1950s?
Selected society biography -
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 in December 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. In foreign policy, Obama gradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, and signed an arms control treaty with Russia. In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
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Selected culture biography -
After expanding on Neuromancer with two more novels to complete the dystopic Sprawl trilogy, Gibson became a central figure to an entirely different science fiction subgenre – steampunk – with the 1990 alternate history novel The Difference Engine, written in collaboration with Bruce Sterling. In the 1990s he composed the Bridge trilogy of novels, which focused on sociological observations of near future urban environments and late-stage capitalism. His most recent novels – Pattern Recognition (2003) and Spook Country (2007) – are set in a contemporary world and have put Gibson's work onto mainstream bestseller lists for the first time.
To date, Gibson has written more than twenty short stories, nine novels (one in collaboration), a nonfiction artist's book, and has contributed articles to several major publications and collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians.
Selected location -
Brockway Mountain was named for David D. Brockway, one of the pioneer residents of the area. The road was constructed by the county road commission with funding through Depression-era work programs in 1933. It was briefly used as a connection for the parallel state highway after it opened. Since it opened, Brockway Mountain Drive has been recognized in several publications and other venues for its scenic nature, dating back to the mid-20th century. Newspaper profiles of Keweenaw County or the Upper Peninsula have discussed the scenic value of the roadway and its environment.
Selected quote -
Anniversaries for August 31
- 1776 – William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term.
- 1864 – During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta.
- 1886 – The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Sixty people killed with damage estimated at $5–6 million.
- 1943 – USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
- 1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.
- 1988 – Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14.
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/NYPizzaPie.jpg/220px-NYPizzaPie.jpg)
Selected panorama -
More did you know? -
- ... that the two largest Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir trees in the United States survived the B&B Complex Fires (pictured) that burned 90,769 acres (367.33 km2) of forest in the Cascade Range of Oregon?
- ... that in 1929 the Hudson Motor Car Company ranked third in total U.S. production by targeting budget minded buyers, but introduced the Greater Eight, a premium line of cars, at the height of the Depression?
- ... that Ben Cooper, Inc., the "Halston of Halloween", said it sold a scary 4 million Halloween costumes in the United States in 1990?
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